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At their monthly meeting on April 11, the Multnomah County Democrats passed a resolution asking Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem) to resign his position as presiding officer.
Courtney has held that post since 2003 but has come under fire this year because of his handling of sexual harassment complaints in the Capitol.
Joel Barker, a spokesman for the Multnomah County Dems, confirmed that the resolution passed, although it's unclear what the margin was.
"It passed on a voice vote, so I do not have a count," Barker said in an email. The result was first reported by the Portland Mercury.
The result came in spite of lobbying for Courtney by state Sen. Michael Dembrow (D-Portland), who urged delegates to defeat the resolution. Dembrow was the only elected official who addressed the gathering, according to Barker.
Here are the key lines of the resolution:
"To ask President Courtney to step down from position of Senate President and allow the Senate Pro Tempore to take his place. Multnomah County Democrats believes that there was willful disregard to repeated cases swept under the rug by current leadership. Multnomah County Democrats believes that men and women are equal and we stand with and believe women."
Courtney's spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.
